Your Guardian Angel

“Dear, you need to open your eyes now.”

Natasha’s brain registered the words and the fact they were being spoken to her. She kept her eyes closed, though, because she knew where she was. She didn’t want to open her eyes, hoping it was just a nightmare and she could wake up soon.

“Natasha, dear, you need to wake up.”

She listened for other voices beside the female voice speaking to her. She didn’t hear anything, though. She felt the presence beside her move away, and cracking her eye open enough to see, she saw a girl walking through a door. She had enough time to full open her eyes and look around the lavish room. Deep reds, silvers, and blacks lined the room and bed. The room itself was the size of a hotel suite.

She wasn’t quick enough in shutting her eyes, because the girl returned and immediately jumped on the fact Natasha’s eyes were open.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re finally awake. The master has been asking about you for days. He’s even had those two goons flayed for drugging you too much.”

“Drugging me?” Natasha asked, confused.

“Yes, dear. They drugged you so you couldn’t see the location of the house.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days.”

“That’s a long time,” Natasha said, sitting up in the bed.

Looking down, she realized she wasn’t wearing the clothes she’d been wearing. The only thing that remained from before was the black ribbon on her right wrist. She reached instinctively to her neck before remembering she hadn’t worn her necklace that day at school.

“Yes, it is a long time. The master has been very worried about you. Come along now, we need to get you ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

“Get ready for dinner, of course. It’s almost time for dinner and the master likes everything to be on schedule. He also requires formal attire for dinner. I’ve got a beautiful dress picked out for you,” the girl said, smiling.

“Who are you?” Natasha asked, realizing she didn’t know the girl’s name.

“Maya,” the girl said and smiled.

She had a small frame, a couple of inches shorter than Natasha. Her brown hair was pulled up off of her face, and her brown eyes shone like molten chocolate. There was a warmth about her that was a bit off.

“Why is it that you’re so friendly? Every demon I’ve come in contact with hasn’t been very pleasant to me,” Natasha said, throwing the covers back.

“Come and take a bath while we talk,” Maya said, motioning toward the door she had just come through.

Natasha gingerly stood up and wobbled her way to the bathroom where a bathtub the size of a Jacuzzi was filled with water. Steam was rising from the top and instantly Natasha felt gross from not bathing in three days. She stood awkwardly for a few minutes waiting for Maya to leave, but when she realized the girl wasn’t going to leave her alone, she stripped out of her clothes and quickly stepped into the tub.

Maya brought over an assortment of soaps, shampoos and oils for Natasha to use. She lathered herself up, scrubbing herself until she was red all over.

Once she was busy bathing herself she watched Maya walk to the door, look into the bedroom, and shut the door. Maya pulled a stool up to the side of the tub and started talking in a hushed tone.

“You’re Caleb’s charge, right?”

Natasha froze. She hadn’t even thought of Caleb. A frown settled on her face as she thought about him and the hell he must be going through with her gone. She remembered his face as she turned her head around to get one last glance at him before she was carried too far away. He’d seemed frightened and mad. She closed her eyes against the images.

“Yes, I am.”

“What all has he told you about this place?”

“Nothing, really. They don’t know where it is.”

“Did he tell you about the other Guardians?”

“The two…” she trailed off, not knowing if she should speak or not.

“The two he sent in as undercover?”

Natasha didn’t say anything. She just looked at Maya, waiting for the other girl to say something. Maya smiled, almost as if in understanding, and she leaned down, revealing her neck bearing the tree tattoo. Natasha watched as she pulled a bottle from her sock, wet a piece of tissue, and wiped the black ink away from her neck. Half of the tree was gone before Natasha remembered what Caleb had said; none of the demons could remove the tattoo from their neck.

She sat silent, her mouth hanging open.

“So that means…”

“I’m on your side, dear,” Maya said, standing up.

She held a towel up, ready for Natasha to stand up. She wrapped the towel around Natasha as she stepped out of the shower, and directed her to the vanity in the bedroom. Immediately, Maya picked up a hair dryer and started drying her hair.

“So does he know?”

“No, he has no idea. I’ve been here long enough to not raise suspicion.”

“How did you get in?”

“We captured a demon long enough to clone his tattoo and Max and I were able to get them drawn on. He followed the demons back here, and was instantly accepted. I couldn’t keep up and I told the demons that found me that one of the Guardian Angels had hit me with some kind of power and I forgot everything.”

“How are you able to keep the tattoo on, though?”

“It’s a special paint, somewhat like henna ink or permanent marker.”

“What’s he like?” Natasha asked, tilting her head to the side as Maya finished drying it and moved to start curling it.

“It really depends on who you talk to.”

“I’m asking you.”

“I’m ready for my assignment to be over, if that’s what you mean.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I meant.”

“He has his days where he’s nice, but then one little thing sends him over the edge.”

“What about his powers?”

“He abuses them to no end,” Maya said, sectioning off hair to curl. “He’s had big plans for you. He’s going to put you through the ringer, dear. Always be on your guard around him, and if there’s anything you think is important that Caleb has told you, don’t let Dante know. He’s trying to get any piece of information he can on Caleb or the Council.”

“Caleb hasn’t told me anything about the Council,” Natasha said, frowning.

“Good, then he can’t get any information from you. He’ll try, though. Lord, he’ll try his best to get any piece of information from you. Don’t break, dear. Never, ever break in front of him. Don’t cry, either; he detests tears. I’ve seen him beat people before because of tears.”

“I hate him already.”

“As you should, dear.”

They spent the next hour in silence as Maya prepared Natasha for dinner. Natasha wasn’t used to having someone do something for her, and spent the entire time feeling awkward.
Just as Maya was tying the dress corset at Natasha’s back, Natasha finally glanced in the mirror. She didn’t recognize herself. Her hair was in curly tendrils piled on top of her head, her makeup was a bit heavier than she would have done it, and the ice purple dress did wonders for her complexion.

A knock sounded on the door, breaking her gaze from the mirror. Maya moved to open the door for a footman to step inside and announce that Natasha was to appear for dinner. She walked away from Maya’s side and instantly felt a temperature drop. She felt alone as she followed the unspeaking male through different turns and hallways, all decorated lavishly. Curious, she thought about Caleb’s house and wondered where all their money came from.

She was shaken from her thoughts when the footman stopped in front of a set of double doors guarded by two more males. They opened the doors and Natasha was led into a large dining area. The table itself could’ve easily sat twenty people, yet only five were seated. Three of them rose as she entered the table, and the man at the head of the table buttoned his jacket before coming around the table to meet her.

He bent at the waist in a bow to her. Natasha remained standing as she finally came face to face with Dante.

He was the same as she remembered from her memories of seeing him. His hair was slicked back this time, but his face was the same. Dark skin, chiseled chin, and clean shaven. He was almost a head taller than she was, and as her eyes trailed up his frame, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat attracted to him. Those feelings remained until she reached his blacker than midnight eyes.

Suddenly, she wasn’t seeing the dining room or Dante anymore. She was thrown into a world that resembled any Underworld that had ever been depicted. She was standing on a stone bridge with fire roaring all around her. The screams that overpowered her senses were unbearable. She lifted her hands to cover her ears, but the screams were still there. She looked all around her to see opaque shapes coming toward her. She recognized bodies of humans and she took a step back. The screams echoed until one broke through.

“NATASHA!”

She blinked and she realized that she was still in the dining room. She looked all around her to see she was standing upright with all the people in the room staring at her. The females leaned into each other to giggle behind their hands. The men seemed concerned. She looked back at Dante, anywhere but his eyes, and saw he was concerned as well.

“Natasha are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” her voice came out strained.

He took her hand and led her to the chair to the right of his. Honestly she did not want to sit beside him but she knew she had no choice. She sat down and as he pushed in her chair, she glanced around the table to really see the people around her. She wished she hadn’t.
The females that had twittered earlier had faces that would scare any child. Their faces were scrunched up and looked like someone had pinched their face to their nose with a clothes pin. Sharp, yellow teeth lined their mouths. Their eyes were this nasty shade of orange and red. Natasha literally had to pull her eyes away from them and moved on to the males around her.

She vaguely noticed Dante was introducing everyone, and she made she sure didn’t stare at each one too long. The males were normal-looking, that is until they smiled. Their lips drew back to reveal green gums and teeth, and their eyes glowed. Natasha suppressed a shudder, and her eyes were brought back to Dante’s form as he spoke to her. She looked at the spot between his eyes to keep from being sucked back into whatever it was she was in before.

“Are you enjoying yourself so far?”

“I’d enjoy myself more if you let me go,” Natasha said, her eyes returning to the table in front of her.

A servant moved to pour wine in all of their glasses. She had never been a huge wine drinker before, thinking the taste was too bitter, but as the moments passed she realized that was all there was to drink. Hesitantly, she watched everyone else lift their drinks for a taste, and then she took a small sip of hers. The drink burned all the way down and she couldn’t help but shudder at that taste.

“Ah, my dear piccolina, I cannot let you go. You are very important to me.”

“Caleb will find me,” she mumbled and took another sip of wine.

She didn’t see the slap coming. The goblet was knocked out of her hand and wine went flying all over the carpet. Her head turned sharply to the left as the crack resounded through the room.

“We do not speak that name in this house,” Dante fumed.

She looked back to him, her hand fingering her cheek. By mistake, she made eye contact with him again.

This time she was thrown into an older time. She couldn’t guess the date, but the dress was obviously from a different century. An old farmhouse came into view, and out the front door a blond girl ran out, with a dark-haired girl following. They came closer to Natasha, laughing and running. She saw the blond look back at the dark-haired girl and laughed harder.

“Come on, Amelia! Keep up!”

The dark-haired girl smiled bigger and pushed herself faster to chase after the blond. Natasha turned around and watched them chase each other around the field. She blinked a few times and returned back to her time. Dante was still yelling at her.

“Now, you will never speak that fucking name in this house again. I wanted to treat you fairly, Natasha, but you made me do that to your cheek. You brought it on yourself. I just hope it hasn’t ruined dinner.”

Natasha looked up with tear-filled eyes as different waiters brought tray after tray of food. Natasha eyed all the plates that were piled with food, but sat silent. She couldn’t imagine eating anything now. Making sure no one could hear her, she bowed her head and the words escaped her mouth in a breath.

“Caleb, I miss you.”